The Details

On July 12, Royal Caribbean International’s Grandeur of the Seas was welcomed back to her homeport of Baltimore, after six weeks’ recovery from a May 27 fire in the Bahamas, which is still under investigation.

Grandeur previously had a five-week, $48 million revitalization last year, adding balconies and Oasis-class features including flat-screen televisions, an outdoor movie screen and a redesigned atrium equipped for aerial shows, which received heavy applause as guests captured the Four Seasons spectacular. There are also new digital signs by the elevators that take guests through the daily schedule, give directions and display restaurant menus, all in several languages.

But only a few weeks after the ship started service out of Baltimore, the fire broke out. It was extinguished without injuries, although the passengers were called to their muster stations as a precaution. The ship never lost its power, propulsion or communications.

As Grandeur sailed back into Baltimore in July, the ship flew the historic Star-Spangled Banner flag as it passed Fort McHenry, as well as the U.S. Navy’s “Don’t Give up the Ship” flag flown by Commodore Perry during the War of 1812. Clearly, agents took up the message: Royal executives hosted 1,600 travel partners on a July 12 sailing prior to the resumption of revenue service, and attendees were warm in their praise.

The city was even more enthusiastic in its welcome for Grandeur in the wake of the announcement that Carnival Pride would be leaving the homeport in 2014. Grandeur of the Seas is committed to year-round cruises from Baltimore until at least April 2015.